Sector movers: Bodycote boosts industrial engineers
23rd Feb 2012 16:22
A near-15% jump in the share price of metals and alloys treatment firm Bodycote lifted the industrial engineering sector to the top spot today. Bodycote announced this morning that profits surged 68% after strong demand at its aerospace and defence unit and robust sales overseas. Pre-tax profit fro
Read moreLondon close: Stocks establish a new high for the year
20th Feb 2012 17:46
-Miners jump as investors seek riskier assets. -Officials optimistic about securing Greek bailout. -PBoC cuts RRR for banks. -ECB bought no debt last week through SMP program. Stocks rose on Monday and established a new high for the year after what appears to have been some genuinely positive new
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Miners leap on Greek deal optimism
20th Feb 2012 14:33
Mining stocks and banks performed well in the morning session, buoyed by Greek optimism and the People´s Bank of China's decision to cut its legal reserve ratio requirement for large banks by half a percentage point, announced late on Friday. Mining stalwarts Kazakhmys, Eurasian Natural Resources
Read moreLondon open: Footsie down after Eurogroup, but Barclays rises
10th Feb 2012 08:34
- Barclays rises after cutting bonuses, but profits fall. - Eurogroup fails to approve Greek package. - BCC welcomes BoE's QE boost. UK stocks opened cautiously with Eurozone finance ministers last night failing to approve the latest round of Greek aid. Yesterday afternoon, Greek Prime Minister Lu
Read moreWeir looks to buy Ludowici for £200m
10th Feb 2012 08:08
Weir has proposed to buy Australia-listed mining equipment manufacturer Ludowici for A$294m (£200m), stepping on the shoes of Danish peer FLSmidth which made an indicative proposal for the firm last month. The FTSE 100 engineering solutions provider says it would pay A$7.92 per Ludowici share, repr
Read moreMonday broker round-up - UPDATE
30th Jan 2012 08:57
Rio Tinto: Goldman Sachs upgrades from neutral to buy. Whitbread: Credit Suisse downgrades from outperform to neutral, 1,818p target maintained. Weir: Credit Suisse ups target from 2,200p to 2,275p, outperform rating kept. ARM Holdings: Nomura raises target from 570p to 580p, neutral recommendati
Read moreLondon close: Banks fall after GDP data, markets await Fed
25th Jan 2012 16:14
- UK GDP figures disappoint. - Markets await FOMC statement and Bernanke. UK stocks finished firmly in the red after worse-than-expected UK gross domestic product (GDP) figures sent banks reeling early on. Meanwhile, markets in the US were mixed ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) sta
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Ashmore rises on Barclays upgrade
25th Jan 2012 13:34
Investment manager Ashmore was the best performer, rising over 5%, bouncing back after a poor performance yesterday on the back of a downgrade from Royal Bank of Scotland. Today, however, the stock was given a boost after Barclays upgraded it to overweight from neutral. ARM Holdings, the chip desi
Read moreLondon midday: Banks fall as GDP figures disappoint
25th Jan 2012 11:55
- UK GDP contracts in the fourth quarter. - BoE unanimous in decision to maintain rates. - Mortgage approvals rise. In spite of a strong start, London's FTSE 100 experienced a sharp decline in morning trade following some disappointing gross domestic product figures which came in worse than expecte
Read moreLondon open: Stocks up ahead of economic data
25th Jan 2012 08:39
London's Footsie opened slightly higher on Wednesday morning with the mood boosted by last night's strong showing from US tech giant Apple. In UK news, a raft of economic data is due out this morning, including the minutes from the January meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee
Read moreWeir snaps up Novatech for $176m
25th Jan 2012 07:15
Industrial engineer Weir has agreed to acquire US oil and gas pump valve maker Novatech for $176m (£113m) in cash. Novatech manufactures a variety or proprietary valves and valve seats for high pressure applications such as farce, cement and mud pumps used in unconventional upstream oil and gas ope
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks dip lower
24th Jan 2012 13:04
Banks are leading the way lower as investors feel the waves of worry over the ongoing Greek talks and the impact of the downgrades on three French banks. Lloyds became the biggest faller after losing more than 5%, closely followed by RBS and Barclays. Shares in the latter have taken a hit from a n
Read moreTuesday broker round-up - UPDATE
24th Jan 2012 09:09
Ashmore: Royal Bank of Scotland downgrades to hold from buy. Hargreaves Lansdown: Royal Bank of Scotland downgrades to sell from hold. Weir: Goldman Sachs reiterates buy. Vedanta Resources: HSBC cuts target price to 1,320p from 2,110p; Credit Suisse keeps neutral stance and 1,400p target. Pear
Read moreLondon close: Footsie rises as markets await news from Greece
23rd Jan 2012 16:32
- Markets await news from Greece. - Essar Energy jumps over 10%. - EU approves sanctions against Iran. UK stocks finished the day with impressive gains as investors awaited developments from Greece. Meanwhile, finance ministers of the Eurozone were meeting in Brussels to discuss terms of the Greek
Read moreSector movers: Prudential lifts life insurers
23rd Jan 2012 15:55
Life insurers were on the rise on Monday with sector giant Prudential making decent gains on the back of M&A chatter in the global industry. Last week's rumours that AIA is considering a takeover of ING's Asian divisions for $6bn "reinforces the attraction of the region", according to analysts at R
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